B.J. Penn says immediate rematch "in the works" with new UFC champ Frankie Edgar
by Dann Stupp on Apr 13, 2010 at 12:00 pm ET
Although top contenders Gray Maynard and Kenny Florian are waiting in the wings, former champ B.J. Penn may get the first shot at newly crowned UFC champion Frankie Edgar's lightweight belt.

Penn (15-6-1 MMA, 11-6-1 UFC) dropped a decision and lost his belt to Edgar (12-1 MMA, 7-1 UFC) in the co-main-event of UFC 112 this past weekend on April 10.

However, Penn today said – though nothing is official – that he's spoken with UFC officials and that an immediate rematch is in the works and a real possibility.

"The UFC called us yesterday, and there's probably a rematch in the works with Frankie Edgar," Penn said in a short video posted on his official Web site, www.bjpenn.com. "(It's) still tentative, but it looks like they want to do the fight again.

"So we'll see what's going on. (I) just wanted to give you guys a heads-up."

MMAjunkie.com (www.mmajunkie.com) contacted multiple sources close to the fighters and was told nothing officially has been decided. In fact, one source suggested UFC officials are considering Penn as one of a few options that also include Maynard, who's the only fighter who owns a past win over Edgar.

In recent years, UFC officials has shied away from immediate title rematches. However, a very strong case could be made for Penn, who dropped a decision that was much closer than the scores (50-45, 48-47, 49-46) indicated. Additionally, the defeat was Penn's first at 155 pounds in eight years, and prior to the loss, UFC president Dana White suggested Penn was close to cleaning out the division following a string of impressive title defenses.

If the UFC does green light Edgar vs. Penn II, a No. 1 contender's bout between Florian and Maynard is certainly a possibility. Maynard hasn't competed since January, when he edged Nate Diaz via split decision to move to 9-0 (7-0 in the UFC). White stopped short of declaring Maynard the top contender after the UFC Fight Night 20 victory and instead awarded the title shot to Edgar.

On Monday Maynard told MMAjunkie.com he prefers to fight for the title now.

"If I get a chance to go for the belt, I don't care when it is," he said. "I'll keep training and whenever they tell me, that's fine."

Florian (13-4 MMA, 11-3 UFC), who's fallen shorts in past title bids against Sean Sherk and Penn, was hospitalized on Monday with a staph infection in his knee. His manager, Ron Weinberg, told MMAjunkie.com it was a precautionary and that they expect a quick and full recovery.

Since his loss to then-champ Penn in August at UFC 101, Florian has posted stoppage wins over Clay Guida and Takanori Gomi, and he owns eight wins in his past nine fights.

In any manner, with the UFC already announcing its upcoming schedule through UFC 115 in June, a decision regarding Edgar's first title defense could come soon. One possibility for the fight is an Aug. 28 event currently planned for Boston.